Monday, March 08, 2004
SIGHTSEEING IN SEATTLE
Our first visit to Seattle to see Louis and Gail was quite eventful. Mom and dad drove out with their pick-up and camper, we traveled in our Plymouth sedan and took John along with us. Becky and Di Di were flying instead and we were to pick them up at Sea-Tac the day of their arrival. We made connections without any problems and made our way back to the family.
The house faced Mercer Island and was on the East side of Lake Washington. We enjoyed seeing the sun go down from their deck every evening. In the mornings we didn’t see the sun until mid-day because of the hill behind the property. The house had a lot of glass windows and doors to view the lake from every angle. About 20-feet of lawn divided the front of the house from the lake’s edge.
The interior was light and airy. They had a kitchen, dining room, living room with fireplace, a rec-room with a wet bar and a finished basement. There were also two bedrooms and full bath with a half-bath downstairs. From their house you could see the Olympic Mountains on a clear day and when you were up on the road above the house you could see Mt. Rainier much of the time. Of course we absolutely loved all of the scenery the area offered…….it was a vast domain of nature at it’s best.
One day we visited Mt. Rainier and it was perfect weather for it. We drove around as much as we could and feasted on the sheer delight of the different faces it presented. In July the snow was still on the higher elevation and quite deep at that. We went up as far as we were allowed and then viewed it all from the different perspective coming back down. It was a very enjoyable day for all of us.
Of course we went up the Space Needle and saw Seattle from the high point. The elevator is quite impressive going up or coming down. We saw all points of interest around Seattle and took one full day to drive around the Olympic peninsula over to the ocean. We had to drive a long way before we could find an entrance down to the water’s edge. We spent some time picking up all of the pretty rocks that were around the shore…….in fact so many that the car had to pull hard to get back onto the road home.
Louis and Gail didn’t have a yacht at that time but the neighbors, Bill and Anita did. They offered to take us for a nice ride around Lake Washington and so we all chipped in for gas and took them to dinner at a nice steak house. It seemed odd to take a boat to dinner and tie up so you could go eat…..but in Seattle everything is done by boats from canoes to yachts.
We had pretty well run the course for a first time sight-seeing venture but Louis thought we should enjoy a “potlatch” before coming home. He explained it was the best way to eat salmon so he and Gail and Bill and Anita made all the preparations for the party. They had to soak planks of wood in the lake overnight so they wouldn’t burn. We made a trip downtown to the market area and went to a certain fish shop Louis was familiar with. Once selected, a very capable vendor took a large salmon, cleaned, filleted and boned it with quick graceful movements much like a surgeon. In no time at all we had the fish for the potlatch.
The next day, preparations were being made to tie the fish to the plank. Nails were hammered in all around the perimeter of the fish and then twine was wrapped back and forth to hold the fish on the board. A huge bonfire was lit and when it was burned down just right the planks were propped on saw-horses on each side of the fire. The fish were constantly basted with beer and it wasn’t long until the yard was filled with a wonderful aroma of cooking fish.
The ladies set up tables and placed food of every description on them, the guys got chairs out for everyone and about time for the meal a small group of musicians appeared that Louis knew and played Hawaiian music while everyone ate. Other guests had been invited…….mostly people that Louis knew from work….and it was a wonderful afternoon for all of us to remember. We watched the sun do down over Lake Washington as lights began to twinkle on Mercer Island……it was one of those Kodak moments families have that makes memories to last down through the years………..
Tomorrow the road leads back home.
Until then,
Essentially Esther
The house faced Mercer Island and was on the East side of Lake Washington. We enjoyed seeing the sun go down from their deck every evening. In the mornings we didn’t see the sun until mid-day because of the hill behind the property. The house had a lot of glass windows and doors to view the lake from every angle. About 20-feet of lawn divided the front of the house from the lake’s edge.
The interior was light and airy. They had a kitchen, dining room, living room with fireplace, a rec-room with a wet bar and a finished basement. There were also two bedrooms and full bath with a half-bath downstairs. From their house you could see the Olympic Mountains on a clear day and when you were up on the road above the house you could see Mt. Rainier much of the time. Of course we absolutely loved all of the scenery the area offered…….it was a vast domain of nature at it’s best.
One day we visited Mt. Rainier and it was perfect weather for it. We drove around as much as we could and feasted on the sheer delight of the different faces it presented. In July the snow was still on the higher elevation and quite deep at that. We went up as far as we were allowed and then viewed it all from the different perspective coming back down. It was a very enjoyable day for all of us.
Of course we went up the Space Needle and saw Seattle from the high point. The elevator is quite impressive going up or coming down. We saw all points of interest around Seattle and took one full day to drive around the Olympic peninsula over to the ocean. We had to drive a long way before we could find an entrance down to the water’s edge. We spent some time picking up all of the pretty rocks that were around the shore…….in fact so many that the car had to pull hard to get back onto the road home.
Louis and Gail didn’t have a yacht at that time but the neighbors, Bill and Anita did. They offered to take us for a nice ride around Lake Washington and so we all chipped in for gas and took them to dinner at a nice steak house. It seemed odd to take a boat to dinner and tie up so you could go eat…..but in Seattle everything is done by boats from canoes to yachts.
We had pretty well run the course for a first time sight-seeing venture but Louis thought we should enjoy a “potlatch” before coming home. He explained it was the best way to eat salmon so he and Gail and Bill and Anita made all the preparations for the party. They had to soak planks of wood in the lake overnight so they wouldn’t burn. We made a trip downtown to the market area and went to a certain fish shop Louis was familiar with. Once selected, a very capable vendor took a large salmon, cleaned, filleted and boned it with quick graceful movements much like a surgeon. In no time at all we had the fish for the potlatch.
The next day, preparations were being made to tie the fish to the plank. Nails were hammered in all around the perimeter of the fish and then twine was wrapped back and forth to hold the fish on the board. A huge bonfire was lit and when it was burned down just right the planks were propped on saw-horses on each side of the fire. The fish were constantly basted with beer and it wasn’t long until the yard was filled with a wonderful aroma of cooking fish.
The ladies set up tables and placed food of every description on them, the guys got chairs out for everyone and about time for the meal a small group of musicians appeared that Louis knew and played Hawaiian music while everyone ate. Other guests had been invited…….mostly people that Louis knew from work….and it was a wonderful afternoon for all of us to remember. We watched the sun do down over Lake Washington as lights began to twinkle on Mercer Island……it was one of those Kodak moments families have that makes memories to last down through the years………..
Tomorrow the road leads back home.
Until then,
Essentially Esther
